COLOMBO, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana has called for multilateral actions to combat poverty, terrorism and climate change around the globe, local media reports said here Monday.
Speaking at the 18th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which is held in Baku, Azerbaijan under the theme of "upholding the Bandung Principles to ensure concerted and adequate response to the challenges of a contemporary world," Marapana said Sri Lanka maintained a consistent policy of fighting violent extremism while tackling poverty, social inequality and empowering women.
Marapana, however, called for global actions to mitigate the impacts of climate change, noting that 25th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Chile later this year would be an opportunity to act against this threat.
The NAM is a forum for 120 member states, representing 55 percent of the world's population, to discuss vital issues related to security and development and holds a Summit once every three years.
Marapana praised the NAM as a collective voice of the South and a champion of multilateralism in global affairs.
Sri Lanka co-sponsored the Bandung Conference in 1955 and was a co-founder of the NAM.
